H/Briggs Takeaways

This week we visited H/Briggs Takeaways in Churchill road Manurewa. The woman serving us suggested we order $4 worth of chips to feed three adults and Grace. We got 2 fish of the day (Trevally) at $2 each, 2 curry rolls at $1.70 each, and a hot dog for $1.70. This came to a grand total of $13.10.

When we entered the store, we couldn't see anyone, so perused the menu for a while. After a few minutes a woman emerged from the interior of the shop, and her first words to us were "Use the bell". Her manner was abrupt, and a little hard to know how to take. Certainly not the open and friendly personality that would win customers over.

Nevertheless we did place and order and were satisfied with the speed at which she prepared our order. I must admit, I was a little worried with the fact that we were the only ones in the shop. It seemed dead, so I wondered whether locals had voted about the quality with their feet. I needn't have worried.

The chips were nice and crispy on the outside, and certainly not greasy or soggy. They were very salty however, and we certainly went through a lot of water eating them. We felt that the portion of chips for $4 was a little stingy and you certainly can get better value elsewhere. The fish portions were small although the price at $2.00 each fairly reflected this. The fish was really tasty and the batter was excellent. Our suggestion if you are ordering fish is to try to get a ratio of about 3 pieces of fish per two people. The hot dog was quite tasty, as were the curry rolls, although they seemed to have a small amount of filling and a lot of 'wrapping'. The outer layer was crunchy, but the inner layers were chewy.

Quality: 3.5
Value: 3.5

Overall: 7

Summary
A good option as long as you tell them to limit the salt and like the challenge of making light-hearted conversation with porcupines.

McKean Ave Takeaways

This week we visited Mckean Ave Takeaways. We ordered $2.50 chips, a piece of snapper, 4 onion rings, a hot dog and two curry rolls. This easily fed 2 adults and little Grace for $13.00.

The fish cost $3.30 and tasted fresh. It was moist and the batter was crispy. The chips were tasty, but we felt that they were a little bit soggy. The curry rolls were $1.80 each. The filling was tasty (although we didn't rate them as tasty as either Gold Coast or Alfriston Road) and it was pleasing to see the variety of vegetables used. The exterior was not as crunchy as we would have liked, but they were certainly not greasy or soggy. The hot dog was good and at $1.20 it was also cheap, although the batter was a little thin in places. We really enjoyed the onion rings which were 60 cents each.

Quality 3.5/5
Value 4/5

Overall 7.5/10

Summary
A good option, but a pity about the chips not being crispy.